Jackson Pollock

Jackson Pollock was one of the most influential and revolutionary artists of the 20th century. His unique "drip painting" technique, which involved pouring and flicking paint directly onto large canvases, transformed the art world and paved the way for the abstract expressionist movement.

Early Life and Training

Pollock was born in 1912 in Cody, Wyoming, the youngest of five brothers. His parents, Stella May and LeRoy Pollock, were of Scotch-Irish descent and did not raise their sons in any particular religion. The family moved around the western United States during Pollock's childhood, eventually settling in California. As a young man, Pollock studied art at the Art Students League of New York, where he was mentored by the painter Thomas Hart Benton.

Benton's influence can be seen in Pollock's early figurative works, which depicted rural American life. However, Pollock soon began to rebel against Benton's naturalistic style, moving towards a more abstract and expressive mode of painting.

Left: prize-winning painting by Pollock - the judge was Piet Mondrian.

Above: Jackson Pollock in front of his painting 'Mural'.

Gallery visitors in front of 'Mural'. pollock painted this in 1943 in 24 hours for Peggy Guggenheim's New York apartment.

The Drip Technique

Pollock's breakthrough came in the late 1940s, when he developed his iconic "drip technique." Instead of using traditional brushes, Pollock would pour, drip, and flick paint directly onto large, unprimed canvases laid flat on the floor.
This allowed him to approach the canvas from all sides, creating a dynamic, all-over composition.
Pollock's process was highly physical, with the artist often dancing and moving around the canvas as he worked. The resulting paintings were a radical departure from traditional easel painting, with their energetic, gestural lines and lack of a central focal point.
Critics were divided in their response to Pollock's new style. Some praised the immediacy and spontaneity of his work, while others derided it as chaotic and meaningless.
However, Pollock's paintings quickly gained recognition, and he became a leading figure in the abstract expressionist movement.

Jackson Pollock's drip paintings were radical and groundbreaking for several reasons:

Pollock rejected the idea of the artist being in complete control. He embraced chance and accident, allowing the paint to flow naturally and create its own patterns and textures. This introduced an element of spontaneity and unpredictability.

His "all-over" paintings avoided any clear focal point, with the entire canvas being given equal emphasis. This flattened the picture plane and eliminated traditional ideas of foreground/background.

The sheer scale and physicality of Pollock's large canvases, with their dense webs of dripped paint, was overwhelming and immersive for viewers. The paintings had a raw, primal energy.

In essence, Pollock's radical drip technique stripped painting down to its most basic elements - colour, line, texture, and the physical act of painting itself. It represented a complete break from traditional artistic conventions and paved the way for the Abstract Expressionist movement to flourish.

The drip technique

The "drip technique" in painting refers to the innovative method pioneered by abstract expressionist artist Jackson Pollock in the late 1940s. Instead of using traditional brushes and easels, Pollock would:

Lay large canvases on the floor or ground
Pour, drip, and fling liquid paint directly onto the canvas from above
Move around the canvas while manipulating the flow of paint with sticks, trowels, or directly from the can
This allowed the paint to splatter, drip, and flow freely across the canvas in an uncontrolled, spontaneous manner. The resulting paintings were entirely abstract, with no recognisable subject matter, composed solely of the intricate webs and skeins of dripped paint lines.

However, research has shown that Pollock's technique was not truly random "dripping." He carefully controlled the viscosity of the paint, the distance from the canvas, and the speed of his pouring motions to avoid the "coiling instability" that causes thick liquids like honey to curl up. This allowed him to create long, unbroken filaments of paint rather than just droplets.

So while commonly referred to as the "drip technique," Pollock's innovative painting method involved a complex understanding of fluid dynamics and precise control over the flow of paint, even if unintentional. It represented a radical departure from traditional artistic methods and played a key role in the abstract expressionist movement.

Influence and Legacy

Pollock's impact on the art world was profound. His "drip paintings" inspired a new generation of artists to experiment with unconventional materials and techniques, and his emphasis on the physical act of painting influenced the development of the "action painting" style.
Pollock's work has also had a lasting impact on popular culture. In 2016, his painting "Number 17A" was reported to have fetched $200 million in a private purchase, making it one of the most valuable works of art ever sold.
Pollock's life and work have also been the subject of numerous films, books, and exhibitions, cementing his status as one of the most iconic artists of the 20th century.
Today, Pollock's paintings are celebrated for their raw energy, their exploration of the materiality of paint, and their ability to capture the spontaneity and physicality of the creative process.
His work continues to inspire and challenge artists and art lovers alike, and his legacy as a pioneering abstract expressionist remains firmly intact.

Jackson Pollock's drip paintings had a profound and revolutionary impact on the art world:

Broke from Artistic Conventions

Pollock completely abandoned traditional painting techniques like using brushes or an easel. Instead, he laid his canvases on the floor and poured, dripped, and flung paint onto them from above, allowing it to flow freely. This spontaneous "action painting" method defied centuries of artistic conventions.

His paintings lacked any recognisable subject matter or composition, representing a radical break from representational art focused on depicting real objects or scenes. Pollock embraced pure abstraction and chance, rejecting the idea of the artist being in full control.

Pioneered the Abstract Expressionist Movement

Pollock's drip technique stripped painting down to its most elemental components - colour, line, texture, and the raw physicality of paint itself. This launched the Abstract Expressionist movement which prioritised spontaneous self-expression over realistic representation.

The sheer scale, density, and raw energy of Pollock's large drip canvases were overwhelming for viewers, creating a visceral, immersive experience. His "all-over" paintings eliminated any focal point, flattening the picture plane.

Influenced Future Artistic Styles

Pollock's innovations paved the way for other artistic movements like Color Field painting, Process Art, and Performance Art to emerge. Artists like Helen Frankenthaler adopted and transformed the drip technique, making it her own.

His emphasis on the physical act of painting itself, rather than just the end product, had a major influence. Process became as important as the final artwork. Pollock's drip method inspired greater experimentation with unconventional materials and techniques by later artists.

In essence, Pollock's radical abstract drip paintings shattered long-held conventions in Western art. They represented a pivotal shift towards prioritising self-expression, spontaneity, physicality, and the artistic process itself over traditional representational art.

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